"What in the world…?"
Lucky almost choked when he saw the crowd flocking around the garage. He knew they had plans for today and from what Jehnid said last night, he wanted it to make official with the chief. If this was Jehnid's way of making things "official," then Jehnid was one big hell of a fame whore.
"Oh, Lucky, you're here!" Terenei waved to get Lucky's attention. "Good timing. The chief just arrived as well."
"What the hell is this crowd?" was Lucky's greeting.
"Well, this crowd are the people who came here when they heard that the scouting department is going to save us a ton load of resources and perhaps supply us with more in the future," Aldric announced with enthusiasm. "You can say it's our way of showing support for this trial."
Support? This wasn't support.
"Is this your idea?" Lucky asked.
"No. They were already here when I arrived."
So whose idea was this?
Lucky cast Terenei a look, but the man just kept grinning at Lucky proudly and enthusiastically. It seemed like the guy had no idea and completely bought this bull. So, Lucky searched Jehnid in the crowd, only to see the man fixing some more things around the truck with a grave frown on his face.
'Well, I guess Jehnid's not a fame whore. He's saved from that place in hell.'
It didn't take long for Lucky to realize whose idea to call the crowd and disrupt their work. With that smug look on their faces and contemptuous smiles, they didn't have to say they did it to know they did.
"Well, well, well!" Norton approached Lucky, Aldric, and Terenei with a wooden hand fan in his hand. "Isn't this a great day, chief?"
"Hopefully, it'll also be a monumental one as well if they could show that they would be able to clean up the Treeham City." Aldric smiled from ear to ear, casting Lucky a look to explain the place. "It's one of the biggest cities in the area…"
He trailed off as he added with a smile, "... and one of the most dangerous of all."
"It's nothing like the danger zones in Forsaken Heights!" Norton casually chimed in while chuckling behind his hand fan. "This one is not habitable at all!"
"And you sound like that's a good thing," Lucky sarcastically replied, to which Norton returned with a sneer.
"Just like the chief said, we're hopeful for this good day to be a monumental one!" Norton raised his voice for everyone to hear. "After all, we've been scrambling for any scrap materials we could find for years, hindering everyone's progress to make a more comfortable community!"
"If the scouting department proved they could do more than scout areas, but also clear them up, the entire Ant Hill will benefit from it!" his eyes glinted, pleased to see the anticipation and expectation from the crowd. "Isn't that a hope we would all like to hold?! Progress — what a beautiful thing, even for the level of this department."
Level of this department... what a condescending tone.
'Hah.' Lucky quietly sneered. 'This reminds me of bringing someone so high, only to push them off when they were about to reach the sky.'
If others couldn't see it, Lucky could. He knew what Norton was doing, hyping them up so the disappointment would be just as high and humiliating.
"This place already has a wonderful community — a comfortable one at that," said Lucky to Norton before setting his attention to Aldric. "Is this your idea, chief?"
"Jehnid came to me last night for some test run, and after our short argument, he made a deal. He asked me if I give him permission to go to Treeham City, then he'll make sure we will be able to make a base in it. But if it fails, then he'll join the research team again. It's the same for Terenei."
Terenei nodded. "Yep."
Aldric continued. "And if you could clear up the Treeham City, you'll be officially not just a scout team anymore. Because it only means that other areas would be a lot easier than this one."
That was like jumping to level fifty at level 10, Lucky thought.
"Ah." Lucky rocked his head. "What if we failed and died?"
Norton snickered upon hearing Lucky's question, but no one bothered with him.
"Failure doesn't always mean death." Aldric happily reassured. "That is why the gatekeeper is going with you, not to assist you, but to make sure you three will come back here alive."
"Three?"
"Is there anyone else joining the party?"
"No. I just thought you'd include Rex in the count, but never mind." Lucky shrugged. "Thanks for coming to support us, chief."
He then faced Norton and smirked, raising his voice to make everyone hear. "You too, Norton! We really appreciate you for coming. Do not worry. Once we get this done, you and your department won't be scrambling for scraps and materials anymore. We'll be making them. Take this as a word from one man to another."
"Haha! You got that right!" Terenei laughed out loud as he followed Lucky to the truck. "We're going to take care of your problems, so next time, you won't get any excuse why things aren't working! Haha!"
The smug look on Norton's face cracked, glaring daggers at their backs. 'Hah! Let's see if you can still laugh and ridicule us once the gatekeeper saves you from your impending doom!' The thought eased the building annoyance in his heart.
*
*
*
"Let's do it!" Terenei cheered from the backseat, seated in the middle while holding the front passenger seat and the driver's seat. "Let's show them what we got!"
Lucky chuckled at the man's enthusiasm, only to catch the look on Jehnid's face.
"What now?" he asked. "Nervous?"
"That sneaky little bastard…" Jehnid hissed, glaring at the side mirror where he could see the smug look on Norton and his lackeys' faces. "How dare they take all these people and convince the chief to send us off?"
"Why are you angry?" Terenei frown. "The chief is just showing his support because if this worked, we'd get to prove it's not just a fluke!"
"But what if it failed, then, we'll lose all the credits we have," Jehnid muttered through gritted teeth. "Worse. We'd not only make a fool out of ourselves, but we will prove those bastards are the star players."
"Because they are, and you know that." Lucky shrugged nonchalantly as he finished buckling up his seat. "They could reach certain places this truck won't."
The frown on Jehnid's face deepened. "Are you saying no matter what we do, they'll never respect us and our work?"
"All I'm saying is, since they can fly, they can have the sky for all we care. But the ground? It's ours. And without us, they could go back to picking up any scrap like they used to," Lucky smirked. "Buckle up, little guy. Sit back and enjoy the ride."
Jehnid nodded, and for some reason, that little speech sparked back the determination he almost lost. As for Terenei, he grinned from ear to eat and announced,
"This is gonna be a hell of a ride!"